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All you need to know about new Uttar Pradesh CM, Yogi Adityanath

Mar 19 2017

The party has promised to announce the new Chief Minister after this meeting. Reports say senior BJP leader and Union minister Manoj Sinha could be the party's final pick for the post of Chief Minister in the state, where the party will return to power after a gap of 14 years.

In the recently-concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the party secured 312 seats in a 403-member house, while its allies Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party got nine and four seats, respectively. A personal connect with UP BJP stalwart Rajnath Singh also appears to have played a role in tilting the scale in his favour.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pitched for development agenda during the elections rally but if we look into the track record of Yogi Adityanath then it can be clearly predicted that BJP would work for its political agenda rather than development", Afzal told ANI.

The yogi then launched the Hindu Yuva Vahini, which helped him establish his dominance over the region.

In 2015, Adityanath's comments yet again led to public outrage when he said that those who oppose "surya namaskar" are free to leave India. Modi-Shah duo and RSS which may have called the shots in Yogi's dream-come-true elevation perhaps interpreted this mandate as a Hindu consolidation verdict in a Hindu versus Muslim electoral battle.

Charan Singh, Ram Naresh Yadav and Banarsi Das served as non-Congress chief ministers with Yadav and Das holding reins of the state during the Janata Party rule.

In the last two and half years as prime minister and prior to that as chief minister of Gujarat for 12 years, Modi was seen as a strong decisive development oriented leader. Five-time MP from Gorakhpur, he is head of two dozen educational institutions, besides being the President of 17 organisations and secretary of 26 institutions, mostly schools, colleges, nursing and medical colleges etc.

Meanwhile, the newly-elected legislators of the BJP will meet in the state capital tomorrow to elect the new Chief Minister. BJP has become a common man's party. Adityanath and 130 others were arrested on the spot. Adityanath's mentor and father figure mahant Avaidyanath had a Hindu Mahasabha lineage before he joined the BJP.

Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said that several chief ministers of the BJP and the NDA, including Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, have been invited.